FOOR FOR THOUGHT - The chef who cooks up skincare

MARTINBOROUGH’S ADI McMASTER (59) IS A FORMER CHEF AND FARMER WHO USES NATURAL INGREDIENTS TO MAKE HER MARTYGIRL SKINFOOD

- Julie Jacobson

My daughter Sarah was the one who initially raised the idea of me making skin food.

She was looking for something natural to use on her face. I played with Dr Google for a while, but it’s not the same learning online – I didn’t know what things should look or feel like. I found a ‘white witch’ who I trained with for a year. She taught me about the healing properties of plants, things that most people consider to be weeds, like comfrey and plantain and chickweed.

It was very much trial and error when I started. I had so many flops. Being a chef, I hate weighing things, and you can’t do that – everything has to be exactly right. When you put the water and fats together to emulsify, you have to have an exact 65oC temperature otherwise it doesn’t work. I’d be thinking, ‘Ah, no, that’ll do,’ and waste two kilos of product!

I grew up in Wainuiomata before travelling overseas. Coming home, I decided I wanted to train to be a chef so moved to Auckland. My first ‘real’ job was as sous chef to Tony Astle at Antoine’s in Parnell. It was tough – I think the record for job brevity was one day, after he apparently threw a rabbit at somebody – but I stayed for a year.